We designed the kite to do exactly that so I am glad you noticed! We wanted to make sure the kite was ultra stable and predictable in flight which meant making sure it didn't react to every little bar input but was able to snap around quickly when the rider provides intentional steering input.clubkite wrote:So I would call the Prodigy a slow turning kite that can turn fast.
It is indeed a very lofty and forgiving kite in the air, again something we designed for as the essence of freeride is a soft and forgiving experience yet still full of pop and lift.clubkite wrote:I think beginners will definitely enjoy jumping the Prodigy.
This was an interesting design choice on our part. We rigged the kite with a bridle that wants to pull the kite to windward but with a foil shape designed to induce some drag and keep the kite downwind at first. The result of this is a kite with a ton of initial grunt to get you up and moving which slowly makes its way to the window's edge and begins pulling you up wind. This also results in a kite that stays deep and in control if you are chasing it off the wind.clubkite wrote:Upwind ability is on par or very close to the Cypher and that means getting upwind is no problem at all.
The bridle on the Prodigy has been set up to ensure back line tension remains even when heavily depowered.clubkite wrote:It also rides great when de-powered
clubkite wrote:...and it’s nice to do unhooked tricks which is also very much like the Cypher.
We focused the most with this kite design on ensuring the stability of the kite in flight. As rigged out of the bag the kite will resist stalling and is very difficult to get to luff over with fidgety bar input or if you heavily depower the kite when it is as 12 O'Clock.clubkite wrote:However in these very light winds, many kites would be stalling and falling back in the water.
Again, snappy direct turns once the bar is pulled hard enough to ensure the input was intentional.clubkite wrote:I lent the Prodigy 14m to a beginner kiter flying a Cabrinha Switchblade 12m and this is what he said. “I like the movement of the kite, much more direct and I am surprised that it turns faster than my 12m.”
We put a lot of time and effort into the Prodigy design for this year as we wanted a kite that was an ideal entry level kite but also one that would appeal to seasoned dedicated Freeriding kiteboarders who want that predictable, stable feel of a kite to enjoy their time on the water. Glad to hear you are stoked and - yes! - we will have some amazing 2013 kites to complement it!clubkite wrote:Definitely an easy relaunching kite, definitely a good kite to get started riding, definitely good if you want to start trying some unhooked tricks and nice and floaty for the old school tricks. Definitely good for beginners. Also good if you are serious about learning new tricks.
With the Prodigy performing so well, I am sure OR must have some really awesome kites for 2013. I can’t wait.
The Rise as always handled gusts well but given its design (higher aspect, higher performance) it was prone to stalling if you were not active with the bar. This allows a nuanced rider to juice the kite for more low end power once moving but can also be seen as a frustration.POACHER wrote:Old N'Broken - Curious that you find Rises to not be good kites for gusts? (*yanky) If there is something better out there, I'm open to suggestions.
The Rise as been in our line up since 2006 and was a great kite for us for years but has been eclipsed by the Razor on the high end side and was usurped by the Prodigy on the less edgy, more forgiving side making it redundant in our line up. We want to offer consumers clearly defined choices so they can identify their riding style and target a kite to them, not just to confuse them with options that overlap.POACHER wrote:It figures that I get a quiver of Rises the year they decide to nuke the model from the lineup.....
Oh well. I like them so far.
I would like to see some independent (unbiased) reviews. Does anyone else have this kite?Slappysan wrote:When are we going to see some professional reviews for the prodigy?
Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], chet, Chriz76, DanielorDani, deldenk, eloico, Exage, fly62, Gigi;), gl, Google [Bot], ham-er, i_love_storm, IDAVIS, Leon van Bergen, mati, nothing2seehere, rw30, rynhardt, Sun, tilmann, tobesen, universalflush, womble, xoen, Yahoo [Bot] and 433 guests